Page 45 - Plastics News May 2023

labor costs and shortages. • High levels of capital investment ing degree of difficulty. By contrast, a
The survey also revealed how manu- required, 24%; total of 59% believe that targets will
facturers are turning to increased • sourcing renewable energy, 15%; not be met by the given date, or don’t
stock-holding and bulk material pur- • recycling challenges, 12%; see it ever happening.
chasing to limit their exposure to dis- When probed further about the spe-
ruption elsewhere in the supply chain, • implementing new manufacturing cific barriers to achieving 100% elec-
while working with a wider network processes, 11%; trification by the target dates, the
of suppliers to ensure sufficient avail- • reducing energy consumption, major responses were “adapting to
ability of parts. 10%; the new battery supply chain” (19%),
“This seismic shift in manufacturing • difficulty conducting a carbon im- “other” (19%), “high levels of capital
logistics requires smart, effective so- pact assessment, 8%. investment required” (16%), “too
lutions,” said Joerg Reger, managing rapid a pace of change” (14%), and
director of ABB Robotics Automo- Barriers to electrification “refitting & adapting existing produc-
tive Business Line. “ABB is addressing Asked about how realistic it is for in- tion lines & plants” (8%).
these challenges directly with more dustry to shift to 100% electric ve- Questioned more broadly about the
efficient and flexible solutions, such hicle production by the target dates, constraints to electric vehicle growth,
as our range of AMRs [autonomous ranging between 2030 and 2040, respondents cited “lack of charging in-
mobile robots], which can greatly im- respondents were pessimistic, with frastructure” (26%), “high battery &
prove the speed of delivery of critical more than half believing that 100% electric vehicle prices” (17%), “slow
parts to the assembly line.” electrification is not realistic by the technological advances in EV range &

The survey highlighted how the ris- target dates. Of the responses, the charging performance” (12%), “con-
ing cost of raw materials (62%) had only positive views were 11% for strained upstream battery supply
already overtaken energy costs (59%) "definitely yes" followed by 28% say- chain” (8%), “consumer resistance to
as the industry’s chief concern. Ener- ing "yes, but it won’t be easy." Those EVs” (7%), and “lack of battery cell
gy efficiency continues to be impor- that thought the target dates would Gigafactory capacity” (7%).
tant (17%), while an identical number not be met included 41% selecting, The ABB survey includes close to 600
of respondents felt that tighter cost “possibly, but not by the target dates,” global industry experts, from vehicle
management was crucial to the indus- 18% saying they don’t see this hap- manufacturers to suppliers at all levels
try’s response.
Sustainability targets (mostly) on
track
Respondents were broadly positive
about the prospect of achieving sus-
tainability targets, with 16% respond-
ing “yes definitely,” 51% saying “yes
but it won’t be easy,” and 29% select-
ing, “possibly but with great difficul-
ty.” Four percent said they don’t see
it happening, while 1% were unsure.
Overall, therefore, 96% of respond-
ents believe it’s possible to meet sus-
tainability targets, albeit with varying
degrees of difficulty.
pening, ever, and 2% who were not
Questioned about the barriers to sure. When those results are grouped of management and engineering, and
achieving sustainable manufacturing, together, a total of 39% believe that other key professionals throughout
the responses were: the automotive world.
target dates will be met with a vary-

PLASTICS NEWS 45
May 2023